Review: Spider-Noir recaptures the magic of a bygone era

剧评：《蜘蛛侠：暗影》重现往昔时代的魔力

My hopes were high for the new Prime Video superhero series Spider-Noir, based on all those amazing trailers. But I also had some trepidation. Could the actual series live up to the hype? As it turns out, yes, it could. Spider-Noir is a triumph, fusing fast-paced storytelling, compelling characters, gorgeous cinematography and production design, and whip-smart dialogue into a hugely entertaining, loving homage to a magical bygone era. (Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)

基于那些精彩的预告片，我对 Prime Video 的新超级英雄剧集《蜘蛛侠：暗影》（Spider-Noir）寄予厚望。但同时我也有些忐忑：这部剧真的能不负众望吗？事实证明，它做到了。《蜘蛛侠：暗影》是一部杰作，它将快节奏的叙事、引人入胜的角色、华丽的摄影与美术设计以及机智的对白融为一体，向那个充满魔力的往昔时代致以了极具娱乐性且深情的敬意。（下文包含部分剧透，但无重大情节泄露。）

Marvel Comics created its “noir” line in 2009, reinterpreting familiar Marvel characters in an alternate universe, usually set during the Great Depression in the US. A version of the Spider-Noir character, voiced by Nicolas Cage, briefly appeared in the animated masterpieces, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Across the Spider-Verse (2023). (He is set to reprise that role in the upcoming Beyond the Spider-Verse.) Cage’s portrayal was so compelling that we now have an entire series built around it.

漫威漫画于 2009 年推出了“黑色电影”（Noir）系列，在平行宇宙中重新诠释了熟悉的漫威角色，背景通常设定在美国大萧条时期。由尼古拉斯·凯奇配音的“暗影蜘蛛侠”版本曾短暂出现在动画杰作《蜘蛛侠：平行宇宙》（2018）和《蜘蛛侠：纵横宇宙》（2023）中。（他将在即将上映的《蜘蛛侠：超越宇宙》中继续担任该角色的配音。）凯奇的演绎如此引人入胜，以至于我们现在拥有了一部围绕该角色打造的完整剧集。

Co-showrunner (with Steve Lightfoot) Oren Uziel is a film noir fan, so that Marvel series naturally appealed to him. The live-action series is still set in 1930s Depression-era New York, but the spidery superhero is not Peter Parker. Uziel thought the Parker character was too closely associated with a boyish high school type, which didn’t really fit the noir vibe. So Cage is playing Ben Reilly, a hard-boiled PI with a secret superhero identity, The Spider.

联合剧集主管（与 Steve Lightfoot 共同担任）Oren Uziel 本身就是黑色电影的粉丝，因此漫威的这个系列自然吸引了他。这部真人剧集依然设定在 20 世纪 30 年代大萧条时期的纽约，但这位蜘蛛超级英雄并非彼得·帕克。Uziel 认为帕克这个角色与少年高中生的形象联系太紧密，不太符合黑色电影的氛围。因此，凯奇饰演的是本·赖利（Ben Reilly），一位硬汉私家侦探，拥有一个秘密的超级英雄身份——“蜘蛛”。

Ben Reilly has retired his vigilante persona after losing his fiancée, Ruby, five years earlier. Embittered, jaded, and drinking heavily, he’s barely eking out a living with his PI business, aided by his spirited secretary Janet (Karen Rodriguez). And he dismisses his reporter buddy Robbie’s (Lamorne Morris) urging to revive The Spider. Granted, this would help revive Robbie’s flagging career, but with The Spider gone, ruthless Irish mob boss Finn Byrne, aka Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), pretty much has a chokehold on New York City—not just the bootlegging business, but the media, politicians, and business owners.

五年前，本·赖利在失去未婚妻鲁比（Ruby）后，便隐退了。他变得愤世嫉俗、疲惫不堪且酗酒成性，靠着精明能干的秘书珍妮特（凯伦·罗德里格斯饰）的协助，勉强维持着私家侦探社的生计。他拒绝了记者好友罗比（拉莫恩·莫里斯饰）让他重拾“蜘蛛”身份的劝说。诚然，这或许能挽救罗比陷入低谷的职业生涯，但随着“蜘蛛”的消失，冷酷的爱尔兰黑帮老大芬·伯恩（即“银鬃”，布莱丹·格里森饰）几乎扼住了纽约市的咽喉——不仅垄断了私酒生意，还控制了媒体、政客和企业主。

Circumstances conspire to thrust Ben back into the action. He’s hired to track down a criminal named Addison (Jack Mikesell), who turns out to have pyrokinetic superpowers. And Addison is not the only one. Silvermane’s bodyguard, Flint Marko (Jack Huston), is slowly turning into Sandman, while his buddy Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola) is becoming Tombstone. Then there’s the egomaniacal Leyden, who dubs himself Megawatt because he can absorb and release electricity. The catch: Those superpowers are slowly killing them. Faced with a sharply truncated lifespan, Sandman, Tombstone, and Megawatt find themselves recruited by Silvermane to shore up the mobster’s political clout by terrorizing the city. Only The Spider can challenge them—if Ben can be cajoled into picking up the mantle once again.

局势所迫，本不得不重回战场。他受雇追踪一名叫艾迪森（杰克·麦克塞尔饰）的罪犯，结果发现对方拥有控火的超能力。而艾迪森并非个例。银鬃的保镖弗林特·马尔科（杰克·休斯顿饰）正在慢慢变成“沙人”，而他的伙伴朗尼·林肯（亚伯拉罕·波普拉饰）则在变成“墓碑”。此外还有自大狂莱登，他自称“兆瓦”，因为他能吸收并释放电流。问题在于：这些超能力正在慢慢杀死他们。面对急剧缩短的寿命，沙人、墓碑和兆瓦被银鬃招募，通过恐吓城市来巩固这位黑帮老大的政治影响力。只有“蜘蛛”能挑战他们——前提是本能被说服再次披挂上阵。

Cage anchors the series; the role suits the actor’s distinctively flamboyant style, and his performance is extraordinary. The actor has described his portrayal as “70 percent Humphrey Bogart and 30 percent Bugs Bunny.” Cage never lapses into slavish imitation, and he reserves the Bugs-like hamminess for when it suits the plot, such as when Ben gains access to restricted areas by pretending to be a handyman, a mental patient, and so forth. Cage also said that he viewed Ben as “a spider trying to cosplay as a human” rather than a human with spider-like attributes, and he choreographs his physical movements accordingly, drawing on his many years of tai chi.

凯奇是整部剧的灵魂；这个角色非常契合他那独特而张扬的表演风格，他的表现非同凡响。凯奇形容自己的演绎是“70% 的亨弗莱·鲍嘉加上 30% 的兔八哥”。凯奇从不生搬硬套，他只在剧情需要时才展现出类似兔八哥式的夸张表演，比如当本通过伪装成杂工、精神病人等身份进入禁区时。凯奇还表示，他将本视为“一只试图扮演人类的蜘蛛”，而不是一个拥有蜘蛛特质的人，并借鉴了他多年练习太极的经验，精心设计了自己的肢体动作。

The supporting cast is just as strong. Gleeson is positively magnetic when he’s on screen, making Silvermane tough and menacing, but also funny and even vulnerable. Rodriguez drew on the character of Sam Spade’s secretary, Effie (Lee Patrick), in The Maltese Falcon for her portrayal of the capable, loyal secretary.

配角阵容同样强大。格里森在银幕上极具魅力，他将银鬃塑造得强硬而危险，却又不失幽默，甚至流露出脆弱的一面。罗德里格斯在塑造这位能干、忠诚的秘书时，借鉴了《马耳他之鹰》中萨姆·斯佩德的秘书埃菲（李·帕特里克饰）这一角色。